Uerdingen is a district of the city of Krefeld, Germany, with a population of 18,507, though Uerdingen received its charter as a city as early as 1255, well before Krefeld. Uerdingen was merged with Krefeld in 1929, after which the term “Krefeld-Uerdingen” was used, until, eventually, the use of the term “Uerdingen” fell away altogether. Until the reapportionment in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia in 1975, Uerdingen, as a part of the city of Krefeld, had a fairly unique special status within Germany. The former Rhine city had special rights and privileges.